The representatives of State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection of Ukraine (SSFSCPU), State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Service of Ukraine (SVPSU), Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, milk producers and processors associations, as well as representatives of international organizations and donors took part in the meeting.
The Head of the State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection of Ukraine Volodymyr Lapa said that the role of services that provide food quality inspection is changing now: "We are doing everything possible for transparent work of the new controlling body - State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection of Ukraine. In addition, I note that last week the Government of Ukraine made another step towards European integration through the approval of a Comprehensive Strategy for Implementation of Legislation in Sphere of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. We have the plan of adaptation to 2020 and we will implement it. In this regard, we believe that the beginning of the Swiss-Ukrainian project of technical assistance on risk-based milk safety control system is very timely and the main components are important". Also Volodymyr Lapa expressed gratitude to the Swiss Confederation for the technical assistance provided to the Ukrainian Government.
«This project will be an integral part of the Swiss Cooperation Strategy Ukraine 2015-2018, which includes economic sustainability as a focus area. Agriculture and agricultural exports are important pillars of the Ukrainian economy. Hence, investing in reinforcement of food safety in the dairy value chain matches the strategic aim to strengthen economic sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises by improving the business climate, export diversification and integration in international trade. The goal of the project is the establishment of a modern food safety control system in the dairy value chain in Ukraine. It can be achieved through close cooperation between government agencies, private sector and non-governmental organizations», – noted Holger Tausch, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ukraine.
The main prerequisite of the project is fragmentation and weakness of the dairy sector structure, as well as the entire dairy supply and outputs chain in Ukraine. It is estimated that about 80% of the total raw milk is produced by small producers, which are characterized by very poor control over milk quality and safety parameters. Due to the lack of supply, milk processors are forced to buy low quality milk, with immediate impact on quality of products and marketability on the international market.
Manon Schuppers, Director of SAFOSO AG which is implementing the project presented 3 main components of the planned activities:
establishing the institutional arrangements to ensure an integrated milk safety control system by the State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Service of Ukraine (SVPSU);
increasing the knowledge and providing modern tools for implementation of an efficient risk-based milk safety inspection system;
strengthening the capacity of private industry to produce safe milk products for consumers in Ukraine and abroad.
The lack of compliance with EU and international food safety standards is a major obstacle towards the export ambition of the country towards EU. Therefore, the project’s activities are focused on the one hand on providing technical assistance to the SSFSCPU/SVPSU and on the other hand on assisting the milk processing industry to put in place an extension program to improve the production of safe and high quality milk in the primary industry.
